How do I see a Doctor or Healthcare Professional ?

You can make an appointment online via our website, by telephoning us on 01271 323443, or by visiting our reception in the main surgery building.

Important! Please remember to make a separate appointment for each person to be seen.

We have a range of appointment times available between 08:30 and 17:30, Monday to Friday. Doors open at 08:15am each day. We are also open until 8pm on Wednesday and Thursday evenings. Appointments are available between 18:30-19:20 on these days.

Same Day Appointments - Litchdon Same Day Team

All patients requesting any same-day help (consultations, prescriptions or telephone advice) will be dealt with by the Same Day Team. This team of Doctors and Nurse Practitioners will operate in a manner similar to a hospital casualty department, which means that people will be prioritised on the basis of need.

The Doctor or Nurse Practitioner will telephone you back to assess the problem and in many cases they can help you there and then over the phone, alternatively if needed you will be invited in for a face-to-face consultation.

The Same Day Team will deal with urgent problems that genuinely require treating that day.

People presenting to the Same Day Team with routine problems will be asked to make a normal, routine appointment for another time.

When you Arrive for an Appointment

We have touch screen computers in the reception/waiting room Entrance area. They are very straight forward and easy to use and require no computer knowledge at all!

Entering information requested on the touch screen identifies your arrival on our computer system which lets the doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals know that you are waiting to see them.

Cancelling Appointments & Non Attending

If you have booked an appointment with a GP, practice nurse or healthcare professional and are then unable to attend, please let us know either by telephone on 01271 323443 or by calling-in to reception with as much notice as possible.

In just one week we can have up to 90 appointments where people have not attended and not given us notice. These wasted appointments could, very easily, have been made available for other patients had we known in advance.

Health Advice from Local Pharmacists

For patients’ convenience, we have an on-site branch of Lloyds Pharmacy. In addition, there are several pharmacies in the Barnstaple area. Your local pharmacist will be able to give you free health and medication advice and you don’t need an appointment.

Home Visits

Home visits are reserved only for those patients who, in a doctor’s opinion, are unfit to travel to the surgery.

This is because we have access here, at the surgery, to specialist equipment and investigations and the surgery is where we are able to provide you with the best care.

If you do think you need a home visit, please call the surgery on 01271 323443 before 11:00. You will be asked to leave your telephone number so that the doctor can contact you if necessary.

If you think an urgent visit is required, you will be asked to speak with a doctor who will assess the problem.

You can also be visited at home by a community nurse if you are referred by your GP. You should also be visited at home by a health visitor if you have recently had a baby or if you are newly registered with a GP and have a child under five years.

Sickness Certificates

You do not require a doctor's sickness certificate for any illness lasting seven days or less. Your employer may however require you to complete a self-certification form (SC2) which is available from your employer or on the HMRC website.

Evidence that you are sick

If you are sick for more than seven days, your employer can ask you to give them some form of medical evidence to support payment of SSP (statutory sick pay).

It is up to your employer to decide whether you are incapable of work. A medical certificate, now called a 'Statement of Fitness for Work’ (see below) from your doctor is strong evidence that you are sick and would normally be accepted, unless there is evidence to prove otherwise.

You could also provide evidence from someone who is not a medical practitioner, e.g. a dentist. Your employer will decide whether or not this evidence is acceptable. If your employer has any doubts, they may still ask for a medical certificate from your GP.

Statement of Fitness for Work - ’Fit Note'

The 'fit note' was introduced on 6 April 2010. With your employer's support, the note will help you return to work sooner by providing more information about the effects of your illness or injury.

Training Practice

GP Registrars, Hospital Doctors & Medical Students

We are a training and teaching practice; one of our core values being the education and development of the next generation of doctors.

We see this as being extremely important and as such we run an active teaching programme for both undergraduate medical students and post-graduate doctors pursuing higher training to become specialists in general practice. Also, we often have nursing and other health professional students based with us for a short time at the practice as part of their training.

We are very grateful to our patients for their active participation in this education, but if you prefer not to, please tell a Help Desk member of staff.

Video Recording of Consultations

As a training and teaching practice, there are times when you may be asked to allow your consultation with a doctor to be recorded. This is done discreetly and is for training purposes only.

Video recordings are required as part of a GP’s training programme and assessment. The recordings are confidential and will be deleted after use.

We hope that you will feel able to allow your consultation to be recorded, if requested to do so, but you may, of course, refuse either before, during or after a consultation is recorded, in which case any material recorded will be deleted immediately.